tonight on "nightline," home free. travelers brace for the worst, protesters pile on and some passengers preemptively strip to go through security. but most airports today were more go-go than grid lock. so, what happened to the opt-out protest plan? back in the game. on the ground or in the air, he's arguably the best player in the nfl. but not long ago, he was in federal prison for running a dog fighting ring. michael vick talks about karma, guilt and second chances. and, try this at home? as long as you don't burn your house down, it's fantastic. bill weir presents his sorta

safe step by step guide to deep frying your thanksgiving turkey. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with cynthia mcfadden in bill weir in new york city, and terry moran in washington, this is "nightline," november 24th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. we're going to begin tonight with everyone's favorite part of the holidays. airports. on this thanksgiving eve, travelers had extra cause for trepidation, because of a planned national opt-out day, an attempt to overwhelm security check points and embarrass the tsa. but it may be that the only thing harder than getting passengers to endure security checks is getting them to deliberately prolong security checks, which is reassuring. ryan owens has our report. >> reporter: it turns out the day everyone is rushing home to grandma's house is a very bad day to stage a protest.

>> make sure to opt out. >> reporter: at the nation's airports, travelers largely opted out of the much hyped national opt-out day. >> time consuming patdowns instead of passing through the body scanners. >> agents actually patted down a down because it was wearing a sweater. >> reporter: flyers ignored weeks of calls to refuse those revealing body scans and force tsa agents to perform invasive patdowns that even got the attention of "saturday night live." >> when selected for a full body scanner, say no. you'll be pulled aside by a tsa agent and that's when the fun begins. >> activists hope national opt-out day would cause long security lines, embarrass the tsa and all but grind air travel to a halt. instead, a few, a very few, protesters, showed up at the country's largest airports. at dfw, a grand total of four.

though, they were armed with some pretty clever signs. at lax, a few more handed out don't touch my junk stickers. activists at reagan were met by angry flyers determined not to be slowed down. >> ma'am, make sure to opt out. >> no, of course not. >> reporter: so, what was supposed to be a national day of protest turned into little more than a side show. there was the college student in salt lake city who went through security in a speedo. >> sir what are you doing? >> just a safety precaution, man. >> put your clothes back on. >> reporter: the woman in l.a. who asked for a patdown in her bikini. >> if they want to try and see what i've got hidden in my bikini, they're welcome to. >> reporter: still, one of the organizers of national opt-out day calls today a success. >> the interest has just been incredible. and all the reports seem to indicate that airport traffic is

light. if fewer people have been abused today as a result, i'm ecstatic about that. >> reporter: he says though the protests weren't large, the message got through. take the davis family flying to see grandma in el paso. it took them all of two minutes to breeze through security, but they were still leery. >> i'm not too big on either of the choices. >> reporter: you don't likiter? what are you going to do? >> i don't want to get killed through radiation, i don't want people touching my private parts. >> reporter: it is the touching, the patdown, that's drawn the ire of so many americans. a recent abc news/"washington post"poll found that 64% are in favor of the scanners but half say the patdown goes so far. the uproar started a few weeks ago and has only gotten louder. first, there was the guy that recorded his encounter. >> we can do that out here, but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have i arrested. >> reporter: and then, the

videos. a shirtless little boy being examined by an agent. tsa insists it is all necessary to keep explosives off planes. president obama was forced to defend the procedures. >> you have to constantly refine and measure whether what we're doing is the only way to assure the american people's safety. >> reporter: his secretary of state was asked if she would go through them. >> not if i could avoid it. no, i mean, who would? >> reporter: apparently, the answer, mad dam secretary, is just about anyone who had to. of the estimated 2 million people flying somewhere for thanksgiving, the tsa says only a handful opted out. and a few travelers even brought signs of support. >> i have never felt violated. whatever the person needs to do, she needs to do to protect the flying public. >> i understand why people are upset, but i think there's a

bigger issue and it's hard to ball lance your civil liberties and our safety. >> i'm fine with it. i would rather be patted down on the ground than blown up in the air. >> reporter: attitudes like that resulted in surprisingly smooth sailing. jason scott works for travelocity. he spent the last few days at dsw, constantly tweeting about problems he sees and checking in with his colleagues at the nation's 12 busiest airports. this is much better than a normal day almost. >> almost. given the short security lines that we're hearing about nationwide, and the on-time departures, it's a great story. >> reporter: and admittedly, not the story any of us expected to be telling tonight. after weeks of worry, the travel nightmare so many feared never materialized. and the trip home this year will be memorable for all the right reasons. i'm ryan owens for "nightline" in dallas.

>> welcome home to them. thanks to ryan owens for that report. when we come back, we'll turn to the story of a convicted felon, now, potential mvp candidate. nfl star michael vick describes his amazing journey. [ male announcer ] this is the evo 4g. this is android, which powers the evo. this is something nice someone said about the evo. so is this. ♪ and this. and all this. and this is something really, really nice that someone said about the evo. well, we thought it was nice. this is the htc evo 4g. with speech disabilities, deaf, hard-of-hearing and people only from sprint, the now network. access www.sprintrelay.com. yeah. aww...that oj needs alka-seltzer plus. fast powder packs are a taste-free fizz-free way

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few public figures fall from grace as dramatically as michael vick did three years ago. the nfl star lost his freedom, and it seemed, his career, when he was convicted in 2007 of

running a brutal dogfighting business. he spent 19 months behind bars. then, vick had to convince the nfl and fans to give him another chance. and now, thanks in part to his utterly brilliant play, they have. bob woodruff has our report. >> reporter: michael vick seems to be a man on a mission these days, whether he's displaying his incredible talent in front of millions on the football field on sundays, or talking to thousands of kids across the country about his criminal past on his off days. >> i continued to fight dogs. for what reason, i don't know. i never had a clue about the consequences. >> reporter: yesterday, we spoke to him after he gave a speech to some young people in new haven, connecticut. >> i have a voice now. what better person to go out and preach a message? and something that i firmly believe in and the experiences

that i've been through, than myself? a figure of, you know, what not to do. what to do. how to come back from it. >> reporter: indeed, michael vick has come back, to the top of the sports world. >> michael vick's second rushing touchdown of the night. >> reporter: he has led his team, the philadelphia eagles, to the first place in the division. nine days ago, solidified his standing as arguably the best in the nfl, to the top of the standings. last week, he had an awe-inspiring performance against the redskins. did you assume your nfl career was over when you were arrested? >> well, at the time, it was. i was suspended indefinitely. i didn't know if i would ever have the opportunity to come back and play and i just had to take it all in stride. and i knew what i had done had led me going to prison. and i suffered the consequences. >> reporter: you think you're better now as a player because of this?

>> you know, i think i'm better now as a player because god took me to the bottom. and i'm a firm believer in karma, and i think it happened because of what i did and what i allowed to happen to those animals. so i was stripped of everything. stripped me down to the bone of everything. >> reporter: what he did to those animals was almost unspeakable. in 2007, vick pled guilty to running a dogfighting business called bad news kennels that was responsible for the dismemberment and killing of countless pit bulls and other dogs. he was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison and served 19 months behind bars, plus two months under house arrest. >> i totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as i move forward to bettering michael vick, the person. >> reporter: just like that, the highest paid and most popular player in football was stripped of everything, his fame, his fortune, his freedom.

you know you were incredibly famous at that time. didn't you assume that someday, you'd get caught? >> no. >> you never thought so? >> never thought so. i never heard of anybody going to prison for dogfighting. i heard about guys getting caught, houses getting raided, you never heard about the consequences. so, i didn't think so. i just didn't. >> reporter: so you didn't think it was really that wrong. >> no. >> what michael vick did was barbaric, inhumane and horrible. and no group was farther out front in condemning what he did and assuring that he went to prison than the humane society of the united states, but he served his time and said he wanted to help and we need the help. >> reporter: wayne is the president of the humane society, which, interestingly, has partnered with vick to visit schools and preach the message of kindness to animals. people are shocked that you did this. you were so much against him, angered by him and yet still,

you have given him a chance to come back and keep his career, in many ways. >> we're a movement of sinners. we have ex-trophy hunters that are some of the best advocates for wildlife. ex-dogfighters, they're some of the best advocates we have to turn kids away from it because they know how appalling it is. they know what the penalties are. >> reporter: so far, vick has given many speeches to thousands of kids and his message seems to be getting across. at least to some of the kids in new haven. >> i can only speak for myself and i think he's doing it from the heart. others may believe he was just here for his community service. but regardless to his reasoning for him being here, he was here. and what he said, i believed him and it influenced me a lot. >> it was a big impact. today, i got to learn michael vick the person, rather than michael vick, the nfl player. like, i learned a lot about how animal cruelty is bad and people shouldn't do, like, not only dog fighting, just all animal fighting in general. >> reporter: despite his support

from kids and the humane society, there are still doubters in many corners. why are there so many skeptics when they see you do this with the kids, that you're really not pursuing this for the reason you say? >> i don't know. you know, i think people are just going to voice their opinions and have their own perceptions and say what they're going to say, but it's not my job to worry about that. i control what i can control. i've been blessed to be a part of the humane society and work with the hugh plane society and help eradicate dogfighting, and that's what i'm going to do. >> reporter: regardless of what might think of his motives, the rise and fall and rise again of michael vick, just a year and a half removed from prison, now a convicted felon, is quite remarkable. >> you excited to play football tonight? >> yeah. very excited. >> reporter: you're a different person now than you were in 2007, the beginning of 2007? >> i think i'm a totally different person now. like i said, in 2007, i really

didn't care about what people thought about me. i didn't care about people's perception of me. you know, i didn't believe, even think what i was doing was wrong, you know, and -- >> reporter: you didn't at all? >> not at all. but that was my train of thought. until one day i really realized, and asked myself, would i be punished for the things that i've allowed to happen and i've been apart of, and once that happened, it was too late, though. it was too late. >> reporter: you think you got caught just in time? >> i think i got caught just in time to save my life. i really think i was headed down a wrong path. i just think, you know, the lord saved me, put me in this position. you know, whether i can help myself, help more animals than i hurt and try to be a model citizen in the community, help kids, as well. >> reporter: i'm bob woodruff for "nightline" in new haven, connecticut. >> redemption for michael vick. good luck to him, but not against the bears.

thanks to bob woodruff for that report. up next, if you're looking for a way to make thanksgiving more exciting, we've got a sure-fire method, and just a few safety tips you're going to want to follow. what is cloud computing? a cloud is a workload optimized, service management platform enabling... ...new consumption and delivery models. it's what? my cloud does email. lowers my energy bill. shares pictures. we collaborate on our cloud. i develop software in my cloud. i want a cloud that understands risk. ...compares patient histories... ...predicts traffic patterns. my cloud is... everywhere. my cloud is secure. simple. powerful. flexible. that's what we're working on. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. i love it. not wash. power wash. ok. whoa. [ female announcer ] life comes with headaches and that's when people reach for excedrin. excedrin starts relieving headaches faster

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from washington with terry moran. >> now, what my co-anchor is about to demonstrate may help you cook the most delicious thanksgiving meal of all time and if you do it right, it will probably not destroy your home or any outlying buildings or injury your pets or family. here he is with a 15-pound bird and a vat of boiling oil. bill weir, or, as we call him

around the news room, cookie. >> hello. happy thanksgiving. this recipe is for all of those who want to keep the oven off this holiday and go outside, enjoy the nice, brisk autumn. and it's also for those who enjoy a little danger. seasoning their stuffing with cranberries. the threat of a, i don't know, a massive deck fire and third-degree burns. but it's worth it. trust me. because, i don't know, 15 years ago, i was catting around new orleans and stumbled across a deep fried turkey. it changed my life. i've never gone back. so, today, i'm going to show you how to, first of all, season your bird, come up with a delicious marinade we're going to inject into that 15-pound beauty. we're going to fry it in peanut oil using one of these contraptions. you've seen these before. you've got your propane tank, feeding gas through the tube to the burner and there is the kettle.

now, step number one is to go to youtube and type in turkey fryer disaster. >> drop and run. drop and run. >> reporter: and there you'll see why exactly you're going to want to remain sober and well away from your wood deck throughout this process. the first mistake all of those people made was overfilling the kettle, putting too much oil in so when they dropped the bird it spilled over the stop and started a fire that will literally burn for weeks. very medieval. so, here's what the kettle looks like. you have the thermometer, the basket, that holds the bird. but also on the side, usually, is a fill line, right there, to give you some idea as to where to put the oil. never, let me repeat, never trust your fill line. since you have to wash your turkey anyway, start by putting your bird in the basket, then in the kettle, then fill it up with water. you want to put just enough water to cover the top of the bird, just barely over the top and that way you know exactly

how much oil to put in. so, the night before you fry the bird, you're going to want to inject it with marinade. you can buy the premade stuff, there's plenty of good brands out there, or can you make your own using about a half-pound of butter, about a bottle of beer, little bit of worcester salt, some salt, seasoned salt is good, too. you can use cajun spice. you can get creative with that. but anyway, you're going to come up with a nice marinade and then you are going to need one of these sort of fantastic -- >> ooh! >> -- dentist of doom syringes. and then you pour a little bit of that in there. >> yeah. >> like that. >> yeah. >> and then -- whoa. this won't hurt a bit. open your mouth.

>> no! >> reporter: so then you stick it into the leg, going to inject a little bit into there. into the breast. just really fill the muscles. fill under the skin. this delicious marinade and then let it, you know, season overnight. all right, ready to start this baby. you turn on the propane. you're going to have a burner control right over here. you can just hear the hiss. go through the lighting hole. voila. there we go. now we have our oil. we know exactly the right level to fill after the water test. and make sure that the kettle is completely dry before you put in your oil. make sure you have the right fire extinguisher nearby. and we'll put this on top. now, while the oil is getting up to 350 degrees, it's a good time

to remind all pets and kids they're not allowed anywhere near the frying apparatus. just to be sure, i usually tie my child to a tree. whether or not you want to gag them with a sock, that really depends on the child. okay, here comes the big moment of truth. we're going to drop the bird in. you want to make sure the cavity of the bird is facing down so the oil will drain out. so, make sure that the neck is pointing up and it's all the way down in the basket. and then we're just going to let it fall. put the top on. and about three minutes for every pound. 15-pound bird, we have 45 minutes to kill. ♪ i fell in love with a mexican girl ♪ how does that smell? does it smell done to you?

whoa. this process gives you a perfectly crispy outer skin with deliciously tender meat inside. look at that. as long as you don't burn your house down, it's fool-proof. gobble gobble, everybody. >> looks good. and we're happy to report bill still has his eyebrows. we'll be right back, but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. jimmy? >> jimmy: thanks, terry. tonight, dave salmoni is here from animal planet with terrifying baby animals. we have music from metric, and paris hilton, so let the patdowns begin. "jimmy kimmel live" is next. paris hilton, so let the patdowns begin. "jimmy kimmel